One Obscure Man in Antiquity

2009-02-08

The primeval events recorded in Genesis have always caused me great intrigue. The majestic Spirit subduing the dark waters and the Garden of Eden and humankind in its innocent simplicity have such a beautiful portrayal in the poetic language used. But the following tragedies seem so universal and devastating: the fall of humankind, the first murder, the hubris of Cain, the arrogance of Lamech, the violence of the antediluvian civilization, the worldwide flood that destroyed all but eight, Canaan’s curse, and the Tower of Babel.

God, despite the decline of his most prized creation, keeps giving us glimpses of the hope to come: the promised Redeemer, the covering of Adam and Eve’s shame, Abel’s sacrifice, the birth of Seth, the worship of Enos, Enoch’s walking with God which saved him from physical death, the faith and rest of Noah and... a wandering nomad named Abram.

The overarching primordial stories take a dramatic shift as we are no longer looking at the demise of human society, but the hope of the world found in this one man. Born in the Cradle of Civilization, he followed God around the Fertile Crescent, departed from his family at Padanaram to go to a land God was showing him--not knowing where he might be led. God blessed Abram materially despite his deceiving the king of Egypt, and made him a household, which was a force to be reckoned with as he took on and defeated an alliance of kings. Abram honored the righteous priest Melchizedek and was cautious of the king of the evil city Sodom. God was the protector of this man, because he was chosen to be a vessel in which God chose to reconcile the world to himself. God swore an oath by himself that Abram would have an heir and that land would be given to his descendants. All Abram had to do was believe God.

Thank God that he is in control over the drama of human history.